Turkey Day Tripleheader: Thanksgiving Day NFL Matchups

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions (12:30pm, FOX): The Green Bay Packers will meet the Lions in Detroit for the 19th time in the history of Detroit's 70 years of hosting Thanksgiving Day football games. The Lions actually hold a 11-6-1 lead in those games, but most of those wins came in a stretch from 1951 to 1963. The Lions have not been very successful in recent years on the day America feasts and give thanks for all that we are grateful for. These teams have met 3 times this decade and Green Bay is 2-1 in those games; the Lions last win on Thanksgiving came in 2003 against the Pack. They have lost 5 Turkey Day games in a row.

This year's matchup should be more of the same; the Packers just have the Lions outmatched in all aspects of the game. They have an experienced QB in Aaron Rodgers while the Lions rely on a rookie QB Matthew Stafford. The Lions do have one of the best wide receivers in the game in Calvin Johnson who has been the Lions lone bright spot over the last season and a half. The Packers have switched to a 3-4 defense that should shut down any rushing game the Lions plan on utilizing, leaving Stafford to win the game for the Lions. Cornerback Charles Woodson and pass rush specialist Aaron Kampman will be licking their chops, not for turkey; they will be looking to quench their hunger for quarterback sacks and interceptions.

Prediction: Packers 31 Lions 16

Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys (4:15pm, CBS) The Cowboys are the other staple of Thanksgiving day, this will be their 42nd game played on Turkey Day, the Oakland Raiders have played 5 games on Thanksgiving. This will be the first Thanksgiving day game for Dallas in their new stadium, dubbed "Jerryworld" by the main stream media after owner Jerry Jones. The billion dollar stadium opened this year and can hold up to 80,000 fans and maybe even more with a huge section devoted for standing room only tickets. The stadium features a 40 yard TV screen above the playing surface, the huge screen has been criticized because the ease a punter or kicker could possibly hit the screen, so far this season(as of 11/3/09) the screen has not been struck, a Titans punter did hit the screen in the preseason. The Salvation Army Red Kettle halftime show will be headlined by American Idol Chris Daughtry, last year the Jonas Brothers did the performance.

Tony Romo plays great in November, his problem has always been December and January. The Raiders have a struggling JaMarcus Russell at QB. Wade Phillips and Tom Cable are the head coaches for the two squads. Expect a one sided game, with the Cowboys coming out on top. Much like the above matchup the Cowboys outmatch the Raiders in just about every aspect of the game, the Raiders are a team that struggles to score each week while the Cowboys put up big numbers and points each week. The Raiders lone bright spot? A shut-down cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, count on Romo to avoid throwing the ball to his side of the field, but Romo has plenty of targets to get the ball to with up and comer Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, and Roy E. Williams. He also has a very talented backfield to hand off to with Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. They might have the most talented backfield in the NFL. If you are not a Cowboy fan, the halftime show might be the highlight of this game, the Salvation Army show is usually pretty good and the kids love it.

Prediction: Cowboys 27 Raiders 9

New York Giants at Denver Broncos (8:20pm, NFL Network): The third game of the Thanksgiving triple header is definitely the most interesting game to watch; hopefully that turkey you had for dinner hasn't put you to sleep by 8:30pm EST. This is the 4th straight year the NFL has added a 3rd game to the schedule, and all of them have been in primetime on the NFL network. The 2007 Super Bowl Champion Giants will go to mile high Denver to meet the surprising Broncos under young rookie coach Josh McDaniels. Tom Coughlin leads the Giants.

The Giants boast a powerful running game with bruiser Brandon Jacobs and speedster Ahmad Bradshaw, but the Broncos defense is a very stout unit led by Elvis Dumervil and Champ Bailey that doesnt allow many yards on the gorund or air for that matter. Eli Manning hasnt missed imprisoned wide receiver Plaxico Burress with the surprising performances of their 3 young wideouts Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Hakeem Nicks. Champ Bailey is the guy on the Broncos defense Manning will want to avoid while also trying to avoid the Broncos sack masters Dumervil and Vonnie Holliday. The Broncos fans have done a 360 since the preseason, they have gone from calling for McDaniels firing before he even coached a game to loving the young leader after leading them to a very surprising 6-0 start. The ultimate game-manager Kyle Orton leads the offense, with long time vet Correll Buckhalter and rookie Knowshon Moreno sharing the carries out the backfield. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall who clashed with the young McDaniels in training camp has bought into the coach's style and a happy Marshall is a very dangerous weapon for the Broncos. The Giants defensive line will be looking to get after Orton with Osi Umenyiora. The special teams game may play a big part in this game with speedster wideout Eddie Royal returning punts and kickoffs for the Broncos, he scored a touchdown on both a punt and kickoff earlier in the season in a game with the arch-rival San Diego Chargers. This game will most likely be a defensive struggle that should be decided by who makes the least turnovers and who plays better on special teams, place kicker Matt Prater will be the edge. I like the Broncos in a squeaker

Prediction: Broncos 19 Giants 17